


Who Needs a Soulmate?

by shirasade



Series: Writer's Month 2020 [5]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, M/M, Nudity, Parabatai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:28:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25732849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shirasade/pseuds/shirasade
Summary: Jace was glad he didn't have a soul mark. What use did he have for love, after all?For the prompt: soulmates
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Alec Lightwood/Jace Wayland
Series: Writer's Month 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859722
Comments: 2
Kudos: 68
Collections: Shirasade's Drabbles, Writer's Month 2020





	Who Needs a Soulmate?

**Author's Note:**

> An anon on Tumblr wanted me to write Jalec for this prompt. However, one of my favourite things about Jace & Alec has always been the fact that they chose each other. So this is my take on a soulmate 'verse.

Jace was glad he didn't have a soulmark. What use did he have for love, after all? 

Only after his father's death did he start to encounter people who looked at him with pity or sadness, as if he was missing something wonderful. He really didn't understand it. It wasn't as if he was the only one who didn't have a mark - he wasn't even the only one at the Institute. There were at least four others that he knew of, and it was generally known that the real percentage of un-mated in the world was much higher than the official numbers. Many people still hid their status, despite anti-discrimination legislation having been in effect almost everywhere for several decades, including the Shadow world.

Jace still didn't care. He didn't believe Izzy when she shook her head patronizingly and told him that he'd mind when he was older. She might have a lovely sun mark on her wrist, but she was only 10, what did she know? At least Alec shared his apathy, yet another thing they seemed to have in common. Not once did Alec refer to the empty skin on Jace's wrist nor to the cuff he always wore on his own. Soulmark cuffs were considered old-fashioned, especially for someone as young as Alec, since most people these days displayed their marks proudly. But then, Shadowhunter society was rather fond of tradition, so Jace waved it off - that was, until he caught Alec leaving the showers one day.

Stunned, he stared at his friend's completely unmarked wrist. Unable to stop himself, he reached out and grabbed Alec's hand before he could attempt to hide it. While Alec stammered, Jace gently ran his fingers over the smooth skin, trying to understand why Alec had felt the need for such a deception. When he thought about it, however, it made sense. Alec was always trying to prove himself - to his parents, to Hodge, to the other children. Somehow Jace had become the exception, the two of them forming a team almost from the day of Jace's arrival in New York. Even their competitiveness was playful rather than serious.

"You do know that you don't have to hide from me, right?" he asked. That was what was important, he realized, not Alec's lack of a soulmark. He needed to know that Alec trusted him, the way Jace did, as he never had anyone else in his life. "We're in this together, mark or no mark."

"I... I'm sorry, Jace!" Alec's eyes were wide, his breath coming quickly, and Jace noticed with a start that he was still holding Alec's hand. He flushed, but instead of letting go he squeezed until Alec responded in kind. They continued looking at each other, and slowly Alec calmed down. "Of course I trust you. I just... I'd gotten so used to hiding this, I was only glad you never asked me to show it to you."

"Why would I? It's not as if we could match, after all." Dropping his eyes in sudden embarrassment, Jace added in a low voice, "Even if you're the only person who ever made me wish I wasn't un-mated, because we seem to fit together so well."

He wasn't sure what reaction he'd expected. It certainly wasn't Alec grabbing his other hand and saying shyly, "I've been wishing for a mark, to make my parents happy with a good match if nothing else, but when I saw you didn't have one either, I was glad for the first time."

"I'm glad too," Jace admitted, his mind racing with a million thoughts and emotions. When he reached a decision, it was most surprising for how unsurprising it felt, settling into his bones like a foregone conclusion. "Because it means I can ask you to be my parabatai, Alec Lightwood."

The beat of silence that followed felt like the longest in Jace's life, yet a part of him had no doubt of Alec's response even before it came: "Are you sure? Jace, parabatai are forever, they're just as permanent as soulmates."

"Bullshit." Grinning, Jace clapped his soon-to-be parabatai on the shoulder. "They're better! Not some random stroke of fate or coincidence of biology but a choice we make."

"If you put it like that..." A smile spread on Alec's face, warm and bright like a sunrise, and Jace's heart skipped a beat as he was pulled into a tight hug. No soulmate's embrace could ever possibly be as good as this, like the promise of a life spent together - fighting, laughing, living. Loving.

The happiness bubbling up inside Jace was unfamiliar in its giddiness, and he burst out in what could only be called giggles. When Alec made to disentangle himself, making a questioning sound, he refused to let go, instead tightening his hold. In between huffs of laughter he gasped out, "I can't believe I asked you to be my parabatai while you're naked."

Alec stiffened and blushed, having obviously forgotten all about his state of undress as well, but then he relaxed and buried his face in Jace's shoulder, laughing helplessly. "Just... promise you'll never tell Izzy."

"Of course," Jace replied easily, still chuckling. He meant every word, however, when he added, "I'll always be on your side."

Jace was glad he didn't have a soulmark. Soon Alec and he would mark each other, their parabatai runes connecting them forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the [prompt list](https://shirasade.tumblr.com/post/625231631577399296/hello-august-hello-writersmonth-im-still) for this year's Writer's Month. Feel free to drop me a number and a ship, and I'll see if I get inspired.


End file.
